People sent me tons of pitches when I worked as a TV reporter. Most were super exciting and I enjoyed reading all 33 paragraphs plus attachments.
I always appreciated creative pitches. Marketers often mailed me eye-catching items to grab my attention. I looked at the items and sometimes showed them to my co-workers. But if I didn’t see a good story, I threw the item away. I didn’t want anyone else to steal a great story idea I may have missed.
PR pros often sent me books. I didn’t read them. I wasn’t interested because I was a TV reporter and cared only about my make-up. Co-workers and I lined up the books on a wooden strip dividing our cubicles. We created a library of unusually titled books none of us opened. We simply laughed at them. Writing humor is hard.
Maybe these marketers simply sent these items to the wrong reporters. Someone once pitched me a fashion story in LA. I was an investigative reporter in Phoenix. Mistakes happen.
Although I’m no longer reporting on-air, marketers still email me pitches. Maybe those marketers are catching up on local news and watching old newscasts on their DVRs that still include me. Maybe someone forgot to take my publicity headshot off the dartboard they use to pick what journalists to pitch.
Carefully identify whom to send a pitch to. If you send a good pitch to the wrong person, your idea may fall into a black hole or land on the desk of someone who doesn’t appreciate what you offer. And I know you have something good to offer. Try to explain it in less than 30 paragraphs.